Besides the engine (block) how much of a part to play did Ferrari have in making the QP/Gran Turismo

At the time the Maserati 4200 series was produced, Ferrari owned Maserati so it's pretty hard to say Ferrari didn't have a lot of input. The F136 engine is a common design in very many ways. Now the cross-plane versus flat-plane argument (just search the internet) is because a 4200 is a GT (like in Grand Touring) whereas the F430 is a streetable race car. The Ferrari influence is humorously seen in the fact that Maserati 4200's were limited to 390 hp. Any idiot making a supercar would have squeezed 10 more hp out of the engine, but 400+ was obviously reserved for Ferrari. That is accomplished with the beautiful Maserati inlet manifold that has fixed length runners (while even cheap Toyota's and the F430 have variable intakes) which choke the engine at high rpm. Even with that I have a 2002 Maserati Spyder with manual transmission and it's a great driving car for those who understand value.

 

You miss the point I was trying to make. The Maserati 4200 was never meant to be a race car. Who drives at 175 mph every day? However the 4200 is a great touring car. That said, Maserati had long known how to make V8 engines and this one they built in 1957 totally overwhelmed the race car technology of the day

 

Lesson in Italian politics 101. Maserati was envisioned as an entry level Ferrari by Montezemolo offering types of models that Ferrari didn’t (QP, 4200) and as a testbed for future components for Ferrari. Montezemolo tried to gain scale by offering the Cambrio Corsa in the QP (big mistake). As the 4200 was reaching the end of its life cycle it was due to be replaced by a newer more modern car in development.

this was when the battle was raging between Montezemolo and Marchionne. Marchionne moved Maserati back under control of FIAT Auto to be paired with Alfa. The 4200 replacement was given to Ferrari and became the California, Maserati shortened the wheelbase on the QP to create the GranTurismo.

 

I have high hopes for Maserati as they are the crown jewel in Stellantis N.V. lineup of brands now. What I find most funny about Stellantis aquisitions is Citroen and Maserati are under the same umbrella once again, but Maserati's 1970s death nail, Peugeot, is with them too! Expect some interesting Fiat Abarth models and rebirth of classic Alfa Romeo's if they're smart.

 

The 4200s were taken to the track after a serious diet and no I'm not talking about the factory sponsored Trofeo series for customers.

Here's an example:

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I saw these cars compete at Watkins Glen and other places. Ferrari of Washington put together a winning team of former race series winners and they fielded I think two of them. Once when they were were doing setup for one of them at a track event they sponsored at Summit Point I had a chance to talk with them about how the car was doing. I was getting my track car a Ghibli Open Cup set up too and as it turns out we had identical issues on two very different cars.

The rear suspension arms on mine wouldn't remain locked in adjustment. I'd take a lap and they'd be loose again. They loaned me a special thin wrench to tighten them but to no avail. That's where I figured out the modification I had to make. Their crew chief told me they had a similar problem with the very much lightened factory Trofeo cars. They'd get it all dialed in for the track they were racing at but after a couple of laps the setup wouldn't hold. This is what they thought hurt their results. They did pretty well anyway. They made a lot of changes to that car including swapping the Ferrari gearbox for a racing sequential one.

In the end it just wasn't a good enough candidate and they stopped campaigning the 4200.

Then Maserati campaigned the MC12 triumphantly.

 

I agree with you about Stellantis, but Maserati is now more the BMW competitor of the lineup. They'll probably sell more Maserati's but the underdog legend will be gone.

 

You're probably spot on correct, one can hope though! The parts-bin sharing between all manufacturers should get interesting again, French, American, Italian, what could go wrong

 

A bouillabaisse of a car?

 

Staatsof, can you be more specific about what went out of adjustment in the rear suspension? I have a 2002 Spyder and on the Maserati forums we've got guys building their own rear suspensions. A big failure point in road cars is the rubber gaiters dry and crack and play develops in the ball joints. In race versions that shouldn't be a problem.

 

Sorry but no.

It was my Ghibli Cup that had that issue and it had nothing to do with rubber.

I don't know what the racing team at FOW specific issues were for certain except that he thought car wasn't stiff enough.

My problem was the fault of the racing shop in Italy that designed and build all the 1996 Evoluzione upgrade kits. I took it back to the stock design but still eliminated all the rubber bushings. That has nothing to do with your car though.

 

Not to get too far off-topic in this thread, but you may already have heard that Formula Dynamics offers a more durable rear suspension rear tie rod. I haven't encountered the issue on my car (yet) but was reminded recently of the issue when I spoke to another owner who had the parts installed on his car.

 

Today located on the East Coast of the USA since many years.